Pacific League: Orix Buffaloes 4-3 Softbank Hawks (29th, Kyocera Dome Osaka)

The Orix Buffaloes won a close game against the league-leading Softbank Hawks, snapping their two-game losing streak.

In the third inning, the offense took a two-run lead when a ball hit by Ota with two outs and runners on second and third induced an error by third baseman Kurihara. Following that, RBI hits by Kurebayashi and Yamanaka brought the total to four runs in the inning.

On the pitching side, starter Takashima earned his fifth win of the season, allowing only four hit and one runs over five innings. This was his first win as a starter in five games, since the game against Lotte on July 11th (at ZOZO Marine Stadium).

In the sixth inning, with a three-run lead, reliever Tomiyama runs one run. In the seventh inning, reliever Higashiyama gave up another run and was removed from the game with runner on second and third with two outs. At this point, reliever Yamazaki took mound. He got Yanagida to ground out to second base, preserving the one-run lead. Yamazaki also pitched a runs eighth inning. Machado closed out the game in the ninth inning, earning his 28th save.